“For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:9-11).
We can say, “we are God’s building.” He has a blueprint for each of our lives. God also allows us to help build His church to become a holy dwelling place for the Spirit of God. This is why God gave us the fivefold ministry of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers.
There has been much debate in the church over the years as to whether two of these ministries—apostles and prophets—are still for today, but to deny the validity of apostles and prophets is to gut the church of these vital ministry functions. Our risen Savior has given these ministries for the purpose of building the church into a holy dwelling place for the Spirit of God. To deny these ministry gifts exist is to cut ourselves off from a supply of grace that could otherwise effectively communicate the voice and will of God—a grace we cannot afford to be without.
This division within the body of Christ is significant because it frustrates the purpose and destiny of the body of Christ. This is not just a theological or academic disagreement. It boils down to how the risen Christ builds His church, His habitation, or dwelling place on earth.
With apostles and prophets today, we can receive the Lord’s grace through them with all humility and true concern for building God’s house on earth. I’m not talking about self-appointed apostles and prophets who share revelation that disagrees with the Bible. Absolutely not. However, we must see the value of apostles and prophets in light of the fivefold ministry.
When we think of “gifts” in the church, we may think of the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit: tongues, interpretation of tongues, discernment, prophecy, healing, miracles, faith, words of wisdom, and words of knowledge. However, we are talking about the five ministry gifts as described in Ephesians 4:11-16:
And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
Again, the fivefold ministry describes the work of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. How can we say evangelists, pastors, and teachers are still for today but not apostles and prophets? There is no Scripture to support that. In fact, this removes two of the five offices from the church.
The church is “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone” (see Ephesians 2:20). So, if the apostolic and prophetic ministries are not part of that foundation, then we cannot truly build anything on it. Again, we’re not talking about apostles and prophets coming up with extrabiblical revelation; we’re talking about ministry gifts that are necessary for the church to come into its fullness and completion. God wants His house on earth built to completion.
Ephesians 4 is talking about Jesus when it says, “He Himself gave some to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers.” Jesus gave these five ministry gifts, so His church could grow, be perfected, and increase. This passage does not mention a cutoff date for the church to exercise all five ministries. We should expect all these gifts to continue because the purpose for which they were given has yet to be fulfilled. If we still see all the spiritual gifts operating today, why not all the ministry gifts? We still lay hands on people, and they are still healed.
And “He Himself” still chooses who will be apostles and prophets. This is not something man can choose or deny. I cannot lay hands on someone and make them a prophet; I can only help them stir up the gifts that are in them (see 2 Timothy 1:6). Christ “Himself” chooses who will help Him build His fivefold ministry to lead His church. The goal of the fivefold ministry is to build the church to its fullest measure, so we can all begin to talk, think, and act like Jesus.
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